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Nietzsche's Meta-Existentialism Vinod Acharya

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Nietzsche's Meta-Existentialism Vinod Acharya RICE UNIVERSITY Nietzsche's Meta-Existentialism By Vinod Acharya A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE Doctor of Philosophy APPROVED, THESIS COMMITTEE: Steven Crowell, Joseph d Joanna Nazro Mullen Professor of Philosophy, Chair Daniel Conway, Professor of Philosoph , Texas A&M University HOUSTON, TEXAS MAY 2011 .ABSTRACT Nietzsche's Meta-Existentialism by Vinod Acharya In this work, I offer a new interpretation of Nietzsche's existential philosophy. I argue that, methodologically, Nietzsche's existentialism is a consequence of making the typical existential position foundational, and then developing to the fullest the implications of this position. I call the resultant approach, "meta-existentialism." Further, I show that Nietzsche's meta-existential philosophy necessarily implicates his complex critique of metaphysics. In other words, his particular type of existentialism can be understood only by thoroughly investigating his criticism of metaphysical thought. Previous interpreters who have sought to portray Nietzsche as an existential thinker, such as Karl Jaspers, Walter Kaufmann and Robert Solomon, fail to seriously engage his critique of metaphysics. They set aside the latter issue, precisely in order to explicate his existentialism. My interpretation remedies this deficiency. This work also addresses those other commentators who do carefully consider Nietzsche's relation to metaphysics, although they do not interpret him as an existentialist. While poststructuralist thinkers, such as Eric Blondel, Sarah Kofman and Michel Haar, have argued that Nietzsche's thought exceeds the limits of metaphysics, other philosophers, such as Martin Heidegger, have claimed that Nietzsche remains trapped within its confines. My argument undercuts this debate by showing that Nietzsche provides an open-ended and ambiguous critique of metaphysics, in which the problem of metaphysics is never settled once and for all. By analyzing Nietzsche's central notion of "will to power" and the problem of "decadence," I show that an encounter with and an ever-renewed critique of metaphysics is essential to Nietzsche's meta-existentialism. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have contributed to my development as a philosopher. First and foremost, I thank my parents for helping me cultivate the taste for a certain kind of freedom and the impulse to pursue new and unexplored tasks, without which I would not have ventured into philosophy. I would also like to thank Michael Gelven and Ted Kisiel, my teachers at Northern Illinois University, who introduced me to Continental philosophy, and helped me navigate my way through the complex terrain of Western philosophy. In completing this dissertation, I have received invaluable advice and support from my committee members. I would like to thank Tristram Engelhardt for his interest in my project. Thanks also to Christian Emden for his encouragement, friendship and for his useful comments on Nietzsche. lowe a special debt of gratitude to Dan Conway for his willingness to get involved with my project. I have profited immensely from our conversations on Nietzsche. I appreciate very much both the positive feedback and the constructive criticisms that I have received from Dan at various stages of this work. I also thank him for his enthusiasm and for his confidence in my project. I am most indebted to Steve Crowell for his constant guidance, his unflinching encouragement and understanding without which this project would not have been possible. Steve taught me to be a more meticulous and rigorous philosophical writer by persistently challenging me to formulate my thoughts precisely and pointedly. He provided me the essential space and freedom to pursue my own research interests, thus allowing me to be creative, while at the same time spurring me to think critically about v my ideas and arguments. I thank Steve for his support over the years in helping me to secure various scholarships and grants, but, most importantly, for his belief in my philosophical abilities. I also wish to thank the rest of the faculty at Rice for their guidance and support. A special thanks goes to Rachel Zuckert, whose seminars on 19th century philosophy were engaging and thought-provoking, and whose perceptive comments in our many discussions benefited me greatly. Thanks to John Zammito for allowing me into his seminar on European Intellectual History, where I witnessed the power of a great lecture. Thanks to Uwe Steiner who played an important part in me receiving a DAAD research grant. I would also like to thank Minranda Robinson-Davis for her friendly help and expertise regarding all official matters and deadlines. This dissertation benefited significantly from my stay in Freiburg, Germany in 2009-2010. I thank DAAD for this wonderful opportunity, and also Andreas Urs Sommer, Gitta Fehrenbach and Philipp Fehrenbach for their friendship and hospitality in Freiburg. I also wish to thank the Humanities Research Center at Rice for supporting my research through a Dissertation Writing Fellowship for the academic year 2010-11. Many thanks to my friend Ryan Johnson for his philosophical acumen, his provocative and aesthetic style of thinking, his unique talent for asking pointed and suggestive questions, and for his pre-modernism and post-modernism. I truly cherish our excursions into the limits of philosophy. Lastly, I profoundly thank Summer Henderson. Summer's loving enthusiasm for my work, her cheerful spirit, her keen eye for clarity and details, her openness to new VI ideas, her ability to entertain conflicting perspectives while maintaining her objectivity and composure, and her passion for travelling have deeply contributed to the realization of this work. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................... ix NOTE ON SOURCES ......................................................................................................... x INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1 I. Project synopsis ............................................................................................................ 1 II. Three groups of interpreters ...................................................................................... 10 III. Chapter outline ........................................................................................................ 19 CHAPTER I: Nietzsche's Meta-Existentialism ............................................................... 24 1.1. Nietzsche as an existentialist: the popular account ................................................ 24 1.2. Indirect versus direct communication: the three stages ofClimacus' argument.. .. 37 1.3. The ambiguity of the existential distinction and the limitations of Climacus' existentialism .....................................................................................48 1.4. Nietzsche's meta-existentialism ............................................................................. 52 CHAPTER 2: Meta-Existentialism and Nietzsche's Critique ofMetaphysics ................. 64 2.1. Existence and the existential mode of philosophizing ............................................ 64 2.2. The interpretative interplay between the subjective and the objective ................... 77 2.3. Nietzsche's critique of metaphysics ....................................................................... 94 2.4. Human, All-Tao-Human: metaphysics and the struggle between science and art .. ..................................................................................................................................... 105 CHAPTER 3: Will to Power: Existence and the Qualitative Aspect of Power .............. 124 3.1. The critique of cause and effect and the will to power ......................................... 124 V111 3.2. Will to power and metaphysics ............................................................................ 145 CHAPTER 4: Nobility and Decadence: The Vulnerabilities of Nietzsche's Strong Type ........................................................................................................ 170 4.1. The cornerstone of the problem of decadence: the decadence of the strong type .. ..................................................................................................................................... 170 4.2. Typology and topology ......................................................................................... 188 4.3. The "weak" sides of the strong type ..................................................................... 207 4.3.1. Solitude .......................................................................................................... 208 4.3.2. The bestowing virtue ...................................................................................... 213 4.3.3. Need for challenges ....................................................................................... 217 4.3.4. Corruption ..................................................................................................... 220 CHAPTER 5: Greek Glory and Decadence: A Case Study ...........................................
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